TORONTO – Budget-conscious fashion lovers will soon be able to snag the luxurious looks of Lanvin for less in a much-anticipated designer collaboration with H&M.
The high-profile teaming of the French fashion house and Swedish fast-fashion retailer is the latest partnership in what has become a mainstay both at H&M and within the fashion industry.
Collaborations between top-tier labels and affordable retailers give fashion lovers the chance to shop for stylish threads for a mere fraction of the typical high-end pricetags.
The collection features about 35 pieces for women, and roughly 25 for men, with 10 accessories for both including shoes, handbags and jewelry, said Emily Scarlett, public relations manager and spokeswoman for H&M Canada.
Scarlett said the line was about exploring the beautiful classic tailoring details for which Lanvin and its artistic director, Alber Elbaz, are known.
Signature touches like the classic ruffle can be seen on richly hued cocktail dresses, and there are puffed sleeves and oversized floral prints on minidresses. Outerwear pieces include a sleek black silk-satin evening coat, tuxedo jacket and textured fur coat.
For those seeking accessories, the collection includes colourful heels, including pairs with fastened bows, and satiny heels with ribbon to wrap around the ankles. Men’s footwear includes Oxford-style shoes in eye-popping hues like electric blue.
Scarlett said the men’s clothing is more about a classic dress look but with a fun twist, pointing to the pairing of a tuxedo jacket matched with tailored jogging pants. There are also daywear tuxedos with cummerbund pleating at the waist, and shirts sporting bib front or pintuck detailing.
Three-button blazers, cardigans, zip-front hoodies, tailored coats and jackets are among the menswear essentials in the collection. Stylewatchers can even cop one of Elbaz’s personal signatures — his ever-present bowtie — in traditional black or a more colourful offering.
Dresses and handbags from Lanvin can sell for several thousand dollars apiece. But in the H&M collection, a cocktail dress will cost from around $150 to $300, shoes are roughly $100, and T-shirts will go for about $40. In accessories, a pair of sunglasses is about $20. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets and leather gloves range from around $20 to $50.
The launch of the line also carries a Canadian connection.
Romanian-born model Irina Lazareanu, who grew up in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Hubert, is the featured model in the collection’s lookbook. She also appears in a video posted on H&M’s website previewing the collection.
The eclectic short film features both young and older models donning the creations in a series of snapshots captured at a hotel as speech balloons pop on and off the screen.
“It’s kind of like (Elbaz’s) dream-like world that he’s created with the collection and I think it’s just a fun and playful video and really just the perfect way to launch this video to the world,” Scarlett said.
Some of H&M’s previous designer collaborations were with Jimmy Choo, Roberto Cavalli and Stella McCartney.
The collection will arrive in North American stores on Nov. 20 and in the rest of the world Nov. 23.____
Online:H&M:www.hm.com
